Ice Age: Running Solo
by kellani celina
Summary: Diego has been kicked out of his herd for the safety of everyone. On his own, he takes up with another saber who inducts him into her pack.
1. Chapter 1

Diego stared into space as had become his custom. Ever since he had killed Soto to protect his herd, he had been distractible, distant. Nobody chose to notice, Manny was wrapped up with Ellie obviously-and the strain of a new baby caused him to be even more family centered. Crash and Eddie had each other for mischief, and to watch each other's backs when that mischief went wrong. Even Sid had found a companion. The new sloth, Sydney, was apparently as beautiful as a sloth could come. Diego didn't know- he thought that she looked like a sloth which meant inherently unattractive. But either way he had no one. He placed his head on his paws and shifted his attention to the fire. At least he looked like he was occupied.

Noises interrupted his thoughts. Manny and Ellie appeared to be having a heated argument. Diego filtered the sounds out, but watched with hidden amusement as Ellie grabbed Peaches and pulled her away from her father. Manny let out a huff and stomped towards Diego.

"Can you believe her?" He snorted. "She's so stubborn and frustrating and…irrational!" he couldn't think of anything else to say. His wife meant the world to him, it was clear to everyone in their herd.

"You're saying it because you love her." Diego said sagely. "I cannot wait to see how Peaches grows up. I'm betting she has both of your tempers."

Manny thought for a moment and faux trembled in fear. He noticed Ellie watching him from the shadows with a disapproving scowl. "Can you imagine Sid and Sydney's children?" Manny said quickly, falling back on their standard conversation topic.

"I try not to." Diego quipped. "Sloths are so uncreative with names. I bet there will be a Sidney, a Syd, a Sydney the Second…"

"All those S names in a species that all have lisps." Manny shook his large head. "I will never understand that."

Diego agreed with him, and they fell into what he thought was companionable silence. Diego stared into the flames, unaware that he was being watched intensely.

Manny cleared his throat after a while. "And what about you Diego?" He questioned. "When are you going to get a saber woman?"

"I'm not." Diego said. "No pack has a territory that extends this far south. And no saber woman would want to mate with someone in a herd. Pack strength is crucial." He had thought about this for awhile, and had resigned himself to the single life.

"Diego, you don't have to stay with us always." Manny said gently suddenly completely serious. "We don't need you as a pet saber. You'll always be our friend of course, but its time you start living your life."

"Are you kicking me out?" Diego asked jokingly.

Manny glanced away. "Were you paying attention to my argument with Ellie?"

"There are so many of them I've tuned them out." Diego said impassively. He refused to let his emotions boil over. Refused to get angry at what he still viewed as a joke.

"It's just that you've changed Diego. You killed Soto, and now you're very moody, you're different. And Ellie has a newborn. She doesn't want to risk Peaches if you suddenly have a mood swing." Manny failed at justification with his friend because he didn't want him to leave.

"And what about Sid?" Diego said. "After all the stupid things he's done, Ellie is going to let him around the baby?"

"Diego, you're a carnivore by nature. Ellie is very hormonal at the moment. You have to understand!" Manny pleaded.

"I understand completely." Diego said coldly. "After everything we have been through together, your wife is more important." And he turned and sprinted into the night.

He stopped at the first hill and watched the camp, hoping to see someone following after him. Instead he saw Sid and Sydney curled up, and Manny lumbering towards his wife.

"You did the right thing." Ellie said.

And Diego continued his departure before he could hear Manny's response. "It doesn't feel like the right thing Ellie. I hope he forgives me."


	2. Chapter 2

Diego pointed himself north. He walked blindly, refusing to look at the white landscape. Its barrenness simply emphasized that he was completely alone. He resented Manny for what he had done, but also understood. Sometimes parents did strange things for their children. Not that he would know, he reflected. Diero had been distant at best. Barely a father, Diero had better fit the role of taskmaster or disciplinarian, and had been more concerned about the survival of the pack as a whole than connecting with his children.

Pridefully Diego decided that he had grown up alone. That he had been neglected for his pack. That he had raised himself, but deep down he knew it was a lie. There had been others in the pack that raised him. His mother was his initial caretaker, but after her death the pack had spiraled out of control. Mindis' death had directly caused Diero's downfall and the beginnings of insanity. Transitively, her death had allowed for the rise of Soto.

Soto had been a better father than Diero despite their closeness in age. Sort of. Maybe for Diego he was more of a much older brother, than a father offering guidance and protection. But undoubtedly he had tried his best to nurture them, especially Shetar.

Diego hadn't seen his twin sister since she fled the pack, trying to escape the cold leader that Soto had become. Had it been two years? Or three? Briefly he wondered if she was still alive, if she had found the fresh blood she had been looking for. He knew she hadn't been able to settle with Soto, he had killed him indirectly. He had fought against his pack, against his brother by trials. He did all that for a herd that no longer cared for him.

Diego didn't understand why he regretted killing Soto. He didn't regret killing the countless herbivores he considered prey. He didn't regret Zeke's death that Sid had reported to him. He only regretted Soto's death. If he had been thinking rationally, he may have noticed that he was being reactionary. That his rage at Manny was manifesting itself as regrets. But Diego also knew deep down that Soto had deserved to live. That as much as becoming a leader had hardened him; Diego owed him for his care, for his guidance, and for his protection.

"It's over!" He shouted, and echoes rolled back over the snow, magnified against the glacier. "I'm going back." And with his destination in mind, Diego began the trek back towards Half Peak, with the goal of discovering what had happened to the remnants of his pack.


	3. Chapter 3

Half Peak hadn't changed since Diego had left. The sharp outline cut across the white sky, across the white ground. It looked wild, dangerous, like home. This was the land that had honed him knife-sharp. That had left him one of the top hunters in the frozen world. This was the land that rejected compassion, rejected love, and ultimately that he had rejected. Now he was back.

Diego snarled at the mountain, and his echo came back at him twice as loud. "Mountain," he challenged, "you will not defeat me." His echoed growl came back again and Diego grinned. A sweep of the area showed that it was desolate. There were no signs of saber. He lifted his leg and soon there was one again.

On the shore of the frozen lake, Diego stood among the pillars of bare rocks. They clawed towards the sky, and framed the view to that rock face. His sharp eyes detected no movement in the icicles there. He had expected none, but still felt a twinge of pain. "Fear is for prey, but remorse is even more so." He said, and then smiled again. Sabers were pack animals, he had been alone for too long.

After crossing the lake, he almost passed by the place of his final fight. Well, Soto's final fight. Pictures flashed against the white background. Manny cornered, Soto's eyes flashing, himself leaping, blackness, and somewhere in the background the sound of pierced flesh. Cringing he looked for evidence, but nothing had changed. New icicles had formed, new snow had fallen, and new lives had been made. The fight was as buried in the past as Soto's body.

"Hello ladies." He announced his presence snidely into the cave, still hoping for some response.

"Why, hello there." The voice came from the other entrance to the cave and Diego was certain that this was no mere echo.

Shocked, he backed into the darkest crevice he could immediately find. Were his skills as a tracker so dull that he hadn't been able to sense the presence of another saber? He touched his nose to the ground while keeping his eyes open. He didn't smell anything still, but was unwilling to take chances.

"You called?" The air at the farthest end of the cave stirred, and with that movement the most intense scent rolled over him. Diego felt hot and cold at the same time, and incredibly restless. Raised by the wild, the primal urge to investigate clashed with supreme willpower and the self control that only starvation can cause.

From that scent a female emerged. She crossed the open midsection of the cave, walking lightly on the snow. The sunlight made her hair reflect red highlights amid the tan. "Please come out." She teased. "I can smell you, and I've been alone for so long."


	4. Chapter 4

Instead of immediately jumping her, Diego restrained himself. He continued watching her, noticing how the tips of her ears and tail were black, how her fangs were slightly smaller, how her footprints barely sunk into the snow. When the female reached the shelter of Half Peak, she didn't immediately collapse. She looked around for danger and Diego flinched when her nearly black eyes met his. He flinched silently as to not give away his position, but her presence made him nervous. It also made him ravenous.

He watched her pace restlessly and wondered if energy was a side effect of being in heat. Shetar had been the only other tigress he had known; he only had vague memories of his mother. And he certainly wouldn't have talked about girl stuff with his sister. He doubted Soto had been told either. Diego decided to play the situation by ear, but could tell that the female needed companionship.

When she had her back turned, Diego sauntered silently from the corner where he was hiding. When he was just out of her peripheral, he snarled behind her ear. He had debated touching her, but just looking at her was driving him crazy. He had no desire to sire a litter with a complete stranger, beautiful though she may be. She tensed, and before Diego could brace himself, she had sprung away and back at him pinning him against the wall. He noticed that her demeanor shifted to playful when she saw he was another saber, and he roughly pushed her off. Faking injury she flounced away. Unable to stop himself, he followed her.

When they woke up the next morning, Diego looked at his nameless mate. "I'm Diego." He said almost as an explanation.

"Melle." She stood up and shook her legs experimentally. If Diego hadn't been watching her carefully, he would have missed the nearly imperceptible wincing. She turned and began walking back into the snowy world,

Diego hastened up to block her. "Where are you going?"

"Away." She replied.

"Running away from home?" He joked.

"I'm debating it."

Recognizing an opportunity, Diego stared her in the eyes. "Stay here until you decide."

"I can't imagine how staying in this desolate mountain would be safer than roaming."

"This 'desolate mountain' is my pack's territory."

She didn't even flinch. "There haven't been sabers at Half Peak in years. The only reason my father hasn't taken over is because there is nothing out here."

"Well I'm back." Diego said. "Please stay with me, at least until we know whether you're pregnant. Then you're free to go or stay as you wish."

Melle stared at him, dark eyes impassive, "Maybe." She thought about it, blinked very slowly. "I can stay a few weeks. I haven't anywhere else to go." She said reluctantly.

Diego's heart soared. He hadn't realized how much he had missed company.


	5. Chapter 5

Diego hesitated before clamping his jaws around the neck of his prey. For a second he had seen fear in the small antelope's eyes and considered stopping himself. When the blood that dripped from the puncture wounds hit the snow, when its metallic taste filled his mouth, he realized that he was again a true predator. The chase had gone well; it was difficult to kill anything alone especially something that was nimble. Diego used his knowledge of the territory to trap it. Glancing at the rock face he recognized again the place that Soto had made his last stand. Would he forever be haunted? Readjusting his grip on the carcass, he wondered if he'd regret this kill as well.

He began dragging it back to the base camp lost in thought. What if he had killed Sid to keep the baby? If Soto was still alive? If his instincts had never dulled? Shetar would have been gone anyways; he wondered desperately whether his treachery had made a difference. It was likely that the pack would have died out anyways. Yet Diego couldn't stop thinking about it, searching for closure that he doubted he would ever find.

"Good hunting." Melle complimented his on his return.

Diego merely inclined his head and laid the antelope at her feet. As she took the first bites he said, "you'd better be pregnant otherwise I'm wasting my energy feeding you."

She snarled, and dragged her food back into the shelter of the cave. He, the hunter, would be eating the leftovers.

"Melle I was joking." He complained. His companion was very aristocratic; she expected to be treated with constant respect. Rather than changing himself, he was trying to improve her sense of humor or tolerance or patience. After spending time with a herd, he didn't realize that she was acting like a typical saber, but nonetheless he found her conceitedness endearing.

His response was a haunch flying out of the cave and smacking against his shoulder. He smiled wryly; she had given him a good cut of meat today. A growl from the cave said that despite her apparent generosity, he would be sleeping outside that night.


	6. Chapter 6

It grew colder. The whiteness became even more blinding as the herds started their southward migration. Diego still kept up his watch of Half Peak and Melle continued staying inside at his command. They had had three kills since the antelope, but none were particularly filling. Diego's energy reserves were beginning to run low. He could only imagine how his partner was faring. Melle still had her glossy fur, and her slim physique had not shifted to bony yet. Although, Diego mused, she was getting most of their food. However her dark eyes were always glowing with hunger.

He returned from an unsuccessful hunting trip with a large field mouse clamped in his teeth. Melle was waiting at the front of the cave. He placed the food in front of her.

Diego was surprised when she pushed it back towards him. "No, you eat it."

"I don't need food. Besides it isn't for you, it's for the kittens." They had ascertained that she was pregnant.

"They'll be fine, but you're losing weight. The kittens definitely won't last without a father."

They hadn't discussed what would happen after birth. Diego assumed that she would leave with the kittens and continue towards where ever she was going. But apparently she was considering staying with him, joining his pack. He didn't mention what she said instead, gratefully, he snapped up the mouse, but it barely made a dent in his hunger.

She interrupted his musings, "I could hunt."

"No."

Melle was continuing an old argument. "If we both hunted, we'd be able to bring down larger prey. The antelope are gone, but together we could probably take down an elk or something."

"Females don't hunt."

"In my pack they did."

"You left your pack."

"Diego if I don't help hunt, we're going to die. Winter isn't here quite yet. We could cull the herds and make a stock pile. Otherwise we'll have to leave the mountain."

"If you we're pregnant, I'd consider your offer. However I'm not risking my offspring to your whimsy."

"Then you're risking them to starvation."

"No. We're following the herds south this year. Nobody will take this territory- like you said there isn't anything here." As much as it pained him to leave his home range, he had gotten used to migrating in the fall with the herds.

Melle's eyes narrowed with distaste. "I left the southern lands."

"Then we can seek temporary asylum with your pack and leave in the spring, or we can stay on the outskirts."

"We had better avoid them at all cost. Diego." She hissed. "I ran away for a reason."

Diego thought that he knew the reason, but he was wise enough not to mention it.


	7. Chapter 7

They left the next morning. Diego scent marked the entire territory on their way south. As he stared at the cliff face he tensed for a moment then looked at Melle. She gazed back at him, then sashayed her hips- effectively snapping him back to the present. He realized that within her was the promise of hope for his pack, the hope that he had thought was destroyed forever.

In an uncharacteristic display of enthusiasm, Diego ran circles around her kicking up snow. She disdainfully looked on, but Diego noticed the hint of a smile in her sneer. Distracted by his prancing, he didn't notice the unusual scent until he nearly tripped over it. In the snow was a single paw print- saber by shape and smell.

"Melle? Come here please." He said very calmly.

She walked over fairly uninterested. "Your track?"

Diego placed his paw next to the print. "No. I thought it might be yours. Yours from your journey here."

"With the frequency of wind over the plateau? Not a chance my prints would have lasted."

"It's a pity I smeared the rest of the tracks." Diego reminded himself that there was a reason sabers were generally subdued, that they usually thought before they acted, and that they never ever pranced.

"We'll just have to go carefully. On the positive side, the size of the print indicates that it was not made by a dominant male."

"I suppose." But he was nagged by something about the print.

"And Diego?"

"Yes?"

"As adorable as you are when you cavort around like an impala, please keep it to a minimum from here."

He nodded, her redress stung. Even though she had meant it as a joke, Diego felt that he was unequipped for protecting her- and his future young. He bowed his head in defeat.

Melle came beside him and nuzzled his head. He was shocked. "Do you really think that I think that you can't take care of me or the kittens?" She asked.

Her insight shocked him. For a second he imagined her as Sid lisping away about something he didn't want anyone to know. Suspicious that she'd mock him he said nothing, but the words came out on their own. "Sometimes. But it's less what you think, and more that I that think that one my own." Diego hadn't wanted to admit his insecurities… so inappropriate for a saber.

"I haven't doubted you yet." She smiled, showing all of her teeth- not just the prominent front fangs. Then she tensed as the foreign smell wafted towards them on a wind gust. "But here's another chance for you to prove yourself."

They faced the west, having made the mutual decision not to run, and simply waited together. And in that moment, with his pregnant mate at his side, Diego realized he hadn't felt so happy since Ellie had joined their herd. He shook his head in disagreement with himself. Actually things hadn't felt so simple since Shetar left.


	8. Chapter 8

The wind shifted slightly and they were no longer able to smell the interloper. Diego did not enjoy being unable to sense the danger and proposed they move on. He led the way; despite her assurances, he still wanted to feel manly. They came to a slight rise and surveyed the area. There were no other sabers in sight, yet Diego still felt uneasy.

By nightfall he was still unable to shake the feeling. They were nearing another pack's territory, yet there were few signs of life. Melle had tensed noticeably and he watched as she swiveled her ears in the direction of the breeze. They had picked a somewhat sheltered area to stay an alcove in a snow drift. Protection from the wind, but it wasn't the best place to survive an attack. Diego offered first watch and Melle curled up uneasily.

If Sid were there they would have been able to make a fire. They would have been able to share stories; he and Manny would have been able to make snide comments. The rejection hurt less now, a dull ache rather than the sharp pangs from earlier. Diego realized he was moving on. Just as the herd had gotten over Pinky, so he was getting over them. He pictured Manny's response, the slow smile that he might have had over the news. Perhaps he wasn't over them yet, but he was no longer angry.

Feeling accomplished, he scanned the area. Seeing no imminent dangers he decided to run a brief sweep, Melle would be fine. The territory wasn't his, so the sweep run was a mere quarter mile, more for his peace of mind than anything else. Again he didn't see anything, but he felt like he was being watched. Still disconcerted he returned to their shelter.

He could here Melle before he could see her, she was snarling, yowling, and sounded very ferocious. Spurred by the sounds of conflict, he broke into a full sprint. In the moonlight, Diego could clearly see the reddish tints in his mate's coat, he but he couldn't piece together the attacker as well. The newcomer was definitely female, and was nearly as slender as Melle. She was longer though, and looked tough and more experience.

Melle swiped at her face, but the other saber caught the blow easily. Melle backed away to regroup, and Diego took her place. When Diego slashed at the newcomer, the blow wasn't intercepted as well. And she was the one backing away slightly, hissing in irritation. Attacking again, she caught him around the foreleg and Diego yelped in pain. He shook her off, and she smashed against the snow drift.

It mirrored Soto's death, however there were no icicles. The foreign female was merely stunned. Limping slightly, Diego approached her. Melle flanked him. Against the white of the snow, her slightly mottled coat did not provide camouflage, but in a forest Diego realized that this female would be able to best him. Her odor was familiar, but she was not in heat, rather she was lactating. Diego cringed at the idea of injuring a mother, but he continued his inspection. Her eyes flickered open as he approached her face, Diego started when he saw the shading. A mixture of yellow green and darker shades, they were the spitting image of his own eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

_I'll make a note here even though I hate them. I promise it'll be short._

_ Thank you for the critique Nightmare Wolf- I'll try to make the chapters longer, but my thoughts are short. I really appreciated the criticism; I'm torn whether I prefer it to the complimentary stuff. Either way, I won't pressure anyone for reviews._

_ And the characters (of mine) from this story are based off of my pack from "Ice Age: the Backstory". This is meant to be the continuation. _

"Shetar?"

The female nodded slowly. "Diego? Last I heard you were dead."

"Nine lives baby." He said, then paused, "last time I saw you I was definitely alive…"

"Word travels fast." She smiled. Diego wondered who she'd heard from; he hadn't had contact with sabers during his travels with Manny and Sid, although he had marked his territory to stave off other carnivores.

He opened his mouth to ask her but Melle, unaccustomed to being ignored, butted in "Introductions?"

"Sorry," Diego said. "Shetar this is my mate Melle. Melle this is my littermate Shetar."

Shetar blinked slowly, Melle extended her claws in response. Diego wondered whether he'd be dealing with fights until… until what? Shetar obviously was in a pack. She was well fed, nursing a litter, and less scarred than a lone saber would be. Yet Diego didn't want her to leave him again, he'd always had a slight nagging voice in the back of his head that was curious whether she'd survived.

Melle flicked her tail against his leg and he wondered why she was being possessive. There was no possibility of him abandoning her for Shetar, and he was pretty certain that their relationship was based off of convenience more than feelings.

"So Diego," Shetar said rising above the younger saber's jealously, "what are you doing in my territory?"

Melle burst away from Diego's side headed for Shetar's throat. Shetar sidestepped and added insult to injury by doing it with her eyes closed. Melle, humiliated and still simmering with anger, contented herself with making a drawn out growl. "Your territory? This is my territory."

Diego had thought she was from further south. "This is neither of your territories. This is the territory of the Glacier Pass pack."

Both Melle and Shetar looked at him like he was an idiot, although Melle never took her eyes off of Shetar. "I am Glacier Pass." They said simultaneously. Then they turned to stare at each other.

Shetar said scornfully, "I heard of one who ran away…"

"I didn't run away. I left."

"Not according to pack rumor. You slunk away with your tail between your legs, too good to tell Daddy that you failed the solo hunt."

"You aren't pack. You're just a sideliner."

Shetar appraised the younger girl. "I'm pack. Your father offered my mate and me the second and command position." She faced Diego who had been watching impassively, "apparently Mindis was very high ranking among Glacier Pass pack." Swiveling back to face Melle she added, "and I could take you in a fight anyway. So even if you do crawl back on your belly, I'll fight you and keep my position."

In order to prevent another fight, Diego placed one paw on his proud mate's shoulder. He stared at both females. "Neither of you are Glacier Pass. Shetar you were born Half Peak and Glacier Pass doesn't accept new blood. I'm surprised their alpha didn't kill you on sight for entering the territory. Melle, you've been helping me mark my territory, and although you were born Glacier Pass, you are carrying my kittens."

They both blinked, startled that Diego was weighing in as well as what he was saying.

"Now both of you lay down- no not next to each other- and go to sleep."

When Shetar opened her mouth to protest, Diego shut her down immediately. "You left your kittens to run sweep, obviously they're old enough to be okay without you for a night."


	10. Chapter 10

"Whose are they, anyway?" Diego whispered to Shetar. Melle had finally drifted into a restless sleep after alternating between glaring and growling for nearly an hour. "Your kittens I mean." They had walked far enough not to wake his mate, but still close enough for him to protect her. But after so long thinking his sister was dead, Diego knew that they needed to catch up.

"You may want to sit down. This will take awhile, and I don't want to ruin the ending." Shetar said cagily. Diego sat, but didn't drop his guard in the slightest.

"After I left Half Peak, I travelled west for awhile, but shortly turned north." Shetar said. "I wanted to go somewhere that Soto wouldn't look for me. I also didn't want to have a run in with Glacier Pass, I wasn't full grown, I wasn't a hunter." She paused. "After a few days I was desperate for company, sabers aren't meant to travel alone. You know that."

"I do now." Diego agreed.

"I was increasingly restless, my wanderings began to circle aimlessly. It was only when I saw the peaks on the horizon that I knew that I was returning home. The scents in the area were beginning to fade, but they were still discernable. I could tell that Oscar and Lenny had scattered quickly in opposite directions. I could smell the bloodshed. Zeke's body was shoved in a cave and decaying. Half mad and ravenous I feasted.

"There were odd tracks across the lake; I followed them back to our den site. The snow was stained red: it was horrible. You weren't there; you'll have to explain your absence later." She leveled her eyes at him. "But someone else was."

"Soto." Diego hissed. "He's dead. I killed him."

"He was half frozen, and had been bleeding heavily. But Soto lived."

"You had his kittens? After you ran away avoiding the prospect and tore apart our pack?" Diego felt a weight lifting off of him, the guilt evaporated. Blame shifted onto Shetar. "I can't believe it."

"Let me finish." Shetar silenced him. "I lay next to him, shared my warmth, and gave him life. But before we could make more life, my blood mingled with the rest of our packs' in the snow. My mind cleared, and I regained the ability to reason as the heat left me.

"No matter the danger that Glacier Pass presented, the only way to safety was south. The migration caused the smaller prey to leave the area, and I was unable to hunt the larger quarries on my own. We travelled slowly, and as we walked, Soto filled me in on what had happened."

"I'll bet it was biased." Diego muttered.

"You betrayed us." Shetar hissed loudly. "You nearly killed our leader, you split our pack, and you successfully killed one of us. All for a group of herbivores and a human baby? I will never understand this."

"I did what was right."

"Debatable." She flexed her claws and sharpened them on a rock menacingly. She had definitely hardened. "Soto and I made it safely south, and he healed among the hot springs. But sabers are not meant to grow fat and lazy in the forest. We are hunters, the elite. Bored of the easy life, we made tracks back home with an understanding that we would reestablish our pack. There was a snag.

"The big male of Glacier Pass caught us on the border of his territory. He would have killed us for trespass but he recognized my eyes. Tierin also saw potential inside of me. I wasn't showing yet, but while we were south I had taken heat again, this time I conceived. With the promise that my kittens would swear my allegiance to Glacier Pass, Tierin let us live, let us integrate. Soto and I were tested, and our prowess at hunting gave us rank. He's lieutenant.

"There were whispers at Glacier Pass. Stories of a runaway, Tierin's daughter, whose desertion depleted the breeding stock. That's the real reason why we could join, Tierin was looking to adopt a new heir, one who wouldn't fail him. Me." Shetar flashed her teeth smugly, and her eyes reflected green light at Diego. "I wasn't lying about your mate failing the solo hunt. Your woman is weak. She isn't worthy of pack status."

"She survived well enough before she found me." Diego replied. "Our kittens will be capable hunters."

"I birthed three survivors." Shetar said proudly. "Compared to that, what's one good hunter?"

If she hadn't been a relative, Diego thought that he would have sliced her throat.


	11. Chapter 11

Melle woke Diego at dawn. He had barely slept from stewing over Shetar's insults and, after rubbing sleep from his eyes, mumbled blearily "what's the matter?" He surveyed the landscape for danger, on a normal morning he would have been coaxing his mate to move, so he assumed there was a problem. But the sky was barren, and there were no unexpected figures between him and the distant horizon.

"She's still here." Melle growled.

Diego sighed. "Of course she's still here. She's my sister and we haven't seen each other in awhile. I've missed her." He had hoped that a good sleep would have cooled the tension between them.

"That's not what you said last night," she contradicted. "But it was cute that you defended me." Butting her head against his back, she forced him to lie back down and arranged him for maximum comfort. Knowing that she was being possessive, Diego started to slink away. He didn't have time for this juvenile behavior. "No stay." Melle whispered.

Looking again towards Shetar's sleeping figure he turned to Melle and licked her forehead. Gently he placed his paw on her abdomen. It would be some time before she would be showing, but he pretended her pulse was the slight movement of the kittens. "You're so confusing." He said.

She looked up lazily, "why?"

"You're so distant. I never know what you want. You switch between a child and a woman… it's frustrating." He leaned closer to her, transfixed by her regal eyes.

"Is it?"

Those words caused Diego to forget that they weren't alone. "Yes." He growled. "It drives me crazy that I'll never be able to figure out who you'll be. Melle, I want you, I want reassurance that you also want me."

Slowly she raised her head to his. Never breaking eye contact, she initiated a saber style kiss. Allowing her complete control, Diego stood absolutely still as she pressed her muzzle against his, and then slid it down the side of his neck. Tucking her head underneath his, she ended in a picture of submission. "Of course I want you." She said. "I want to stay with you. I want to see you as a father, as leader, as lover. Why else would I have let you mate with me?" The tender look in her eyes warned Diego not to bring up the biology of sex. Instead he pulled her a little closer subtly marking his territory. This tigress was his, everything else was irrelevant.

Melle shifted underneath him and his head slanted towards his sister. Silhouetted against the snow, Shetar appeared to be haloed in light. He could see her narrowing her eyes at the touching scene before her, and felt judged for his display of affection. As she stood and padded softly away, Diego recognized her loping gate as a feature they shared. He also recognized it as Diero's. His emulation of his father worried him slightly, would he harden into a monster like his father? Would Shetar? Even as he was holding Melle, he wished nothing more than to talk to Soto, he needed reassurances that only _his_ leader could provide.


	12. Chapter 12

When Diego next awoke there was a bloody haunch within easy reach. "You looked thin." Shetar called from her place on the hillside. She ripped some of the meat from her own antelope leg. "Obviously your woman hasn't been feeding you properly."

Diego growled at her. He was tired of the definitely tired of the snide commentary. "Melle doesn't hunt per my request."

"Which is chivalry at its finest," she drawled. "But don't go letting your pride rule over your common sense or your rumbling stomach."

Attacking the meat single-mindedly, for the next few moments the only sound in camp was Diego tearing flesh and cracking bone. Soon though, he wondered "where is Melle?"

"Ah, she's out scouting for me." The neat pile of bones at his side made him trust Shetar a little more.

Before he could rebury his teeth in his meal, a large paw covered it. "It is interesting Shetar that his chivalry extends to hunting but he lets the female run the perimeter."

The guttural voice was unmistakable. "Need drives Soto."

"Not even a flinch? Very good lieutenant," Soto's approval was bittersweet. "I would have expected that seeing a dead man would have elicited some response from you?"

"Shetar told me you lived." His cold voice and steely eyes didn't betray the knots in his stomach. Or so he hoped.

Soto loomed over him. "A pack leader wouldn't believe such a wild story without evidence."

"He's hardly a pack leader." Shetar commented.

Soto turned to her, "isn't he? Sabers are not meant to travel alone Diego. But if you don't think you can lead a pack, surely you could submit to me again?"

"I do not think that you are in a position to ask me to do that. A lieutenant isn't the voice of a pack leader last I heard."

"An outcast is even lower on the totem pole."

"I killed you once already. I can do it again."

Shetar was nearly purring with excitement. Diego could hardly believe that his sister had changed from the curious cat she was to the blood thirsty creature she was now. "You've gone soft Diego." She panted. "You live with prey. And I saw that moment with your woman this morning. Very tender. Very sweet."

If he attacked Soto, he would die before the blow landed. Diego knew that Shetar was fast on her feet and would defend her mate. She had changed too much for anything to happen otherwise. Refusing to be driven to a fight he wryly said, "That may be. But by living with you Soto would have grown softer. Obviously Shetar, you are the strong independent type."

Abruptly Soto laughed. "I'm glad to see that you are still a saber. Eat your fill." The leg was pushed back towards Diego.

With the tension eased, or at least masked, Diego was no longer listening to Soto. He had his head cocked to the side slightly, listening to the voices on the wind. Noticing, the larger male turned too. "My family" his face lit up with a grin. Diego had never seen that expression on a saber's face before; it was a spitting image of how Manny looked at Peaches. But he had assumed it was a herd thing, none of the adults in his pack had looked at their children that way. And Soto was only hearing their voices. "They are the best thing that ever happened to me."

Melle crested the hilltop followed by three shaky legged kittens. Two of them wobbled over to Shetar but one, the steadiest, approached Diego. "Arla is the bold one." Soto explained. The little girl swiped at Diego with dull claws and Soto knocked her gently onto the snow. "The tall one is Himlad, and the cute one is Sita. Shetar asked Melle to take them away because we didn't want them to see anything if our reunion ended in a fight."

Diego had a flashback to his youth: Soto protecting Shetar from seeing Diero kill the human. Apparently nothing had changed, desire for revenge aside, Soto was the protective father to his children that he had been to his pack mates. Arla was back on her feet trying to attack Diego again, Diego looked on. He wasn't seeing Soto's children anymore, he was seeing his future.


	13. Chapter 13

"Arla let go." Diego gently tried to pry the kitten from his ear to no avail. Melle laughed at him, the sound muffled by Sita, the kitten that she was holding in her mouth. Shetar watched suspiciously as Soto was trying to teach the other adults how to raise children. While Himlad was content in Soto's grip, Diego hadn't been so lucky.

"You are undoubtedly the squirmiest thing ever." He complained. "And I've carried a human baby. Also two weasels and a sloth."

Arla just blinked at him and bit down a little harder. Her eyes were wide and ringed in black fur, the spitting image of Shetar.

"Actually I think I should introduce you to Sid. That sloth certainly needs his ears chewed on. If you could get used to the taste of mold, you could probably even chew on his neck."

Arla growled slightly and shook her head violently.

"Don't try shredding my ears with your baby teeth. If I weren't the most patient tiger alive, I could skin you." He shook his head violently sending the girl flying. An omnipresent snow pile cushioned her fall. "We used to throw snowballs, when I was with my herd. Manny the mammoth once even built a playground for his daughter. I'm 90 percent sure that Sid broke it." Diego couldn't remember all of the details anymore. "And even if he didn't, I'm sure that he got blamed for it."

Snow began to fall and Arla ignored him, batting at snowflakes. Diego thought that Melle was maybe listening, but when he turned away it was Shetar who gestured him back to the little girl. She then tactfully led Melle, Soto, and her other kittens away. "Process." She mouthed. "Then stop moping, because we need to move on from here."

Diego nodded. "I wonder what they're doing now?" The little girl didn't seem to care much; she was digging now, kicking up piles of snow, and jumping into them. It was just as well that she wasn't listening, Diego wanted her to be asleep when he tried carrying her all the way back to Glacier Pass. He figured that if she tired herself out, she wouldn't wriggle so much. "Want to hear a story?"

Arla ignored him. "It's about Sid."

"Sid is a ground sloth; I doubt you would have seen one before. Sloths are incredibly ugly things. They're this horrendous grayish color with splotches of moss, Sid's particularly short and scrawny with stumpy legs and a huge belly that makes it difficult to walk. He also has an inane sense of humor." He lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Arla can you keep a secret?"

She just stared at him.

"I love the little guy anyway. As ugly and irritating as he is, I still love him. He's the mushy glue that kept our herd together. Anyway, he had a knack for getting into trouble…" Diego lapsed into the story, forgetting that they were moving on, forgetting that he was watching Arla, and forgetting that he was in a pack. For a moment it felt like he was back with his old friends.

"Sid thought he was a ladies' man but no woman ever liked him. Eventually Manny and I took pity on him and invited him on a man trip. Manny's wife had had a new baby, and it was best for everyone concerned if she stayed with her possum brothers for awhile. On our adventure Sid drove us up the wall. He was slow and lonely, but never the less he talked constantly.

"Our last day, we were walking around a field of snowberries, which are a delicacy to herbivores, when Sid saw an odd track. It was one large track with drag marks, and on either side there were flecks of poop. Now, I said that sloths are disgusting. Manny and I wanted to keep going, he was anxious to return to his wife and I just wanted to be alone. Sid on the other hand was enraptured by this track. He followed it down a hill until, at the bottom, he found a discarded log.

"Sid was so excited that someone else could 'snow board' that he ran around in circles on the snow. What he didn't know was that the snow was actually ice, and that his feet were wearing a nice hole in it. With a crack, Sid fell through the ice!

"We tried to get to him, but we were too heavy to walk on the ice. We were convinced that our trio had dropped to two and, after a halfhearted brainstorming session, turned to leave our flailing friend. I happened to look back over my shoulder in a parting shot, and I saw a figure moving quickly across the ice. I had seen Sid 'skate' once, but I assumed it was an eccentricity. Stunned, I watched it approach the hole where Sid entered, reach down a paw, and pull Sid up.

"Manny and I exchanged looks. Neither of us were certain that we had wanted Sid rescued. After a heated debate we had convinced each other to go check on Sid. During our conversation he had been hauled to the lakeshore. When we arrived, Manny and I were shocked to see Sid being resuscitated by a female sloth. We take his word that she's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. We then hoped that his talking would scare her away if his breath already hadn't. Sydney's still around though." Diego trailed off, his story ended awkwardly as he realized he'd put the kitten to sleep and that the adults were staring at him.

"Touching." Shetar said. "Now pick up Arla and let's make some time."

Diego, ever obedient, thanked everything that his story had stopped Arla's squirming. "You need to hear the epilogue." He whispered. "To this day, I don't know whether she remains, but if she does its because she's as crazy as Sid."


	14. Chapter 14

The pass rose up between the white mountains, and ever so distant was a swath of green. Diego modified his inner narrative-a swath of brownish green. Through that gap was his herd and all the migratory prey. However, it was guarded by a formidable pack. Diego led the party, having relinquished Arla to her mother's jaws. He was unwilling to let down his guard in Glacier Pass territory, and although he was on speaking terms with Soto, he didn't necessarily believe that there wasn't a trap being sprung.

Melle flanked him. "This is where I grew up," she mumbled through a mouthful of fur. "The den site is somewhere around here."

Shetar held her head high. Out of the four adults she was the most comfortable in this territory. Soto was a dominant male and apparently pack but didn't have the blood line, Melle was a returning runaway, Diego had never met the pack, but Shetar was a mother. "Don't give away pack secrets," she admonished.

"It's my pack." Melle responded automatically. "You're the intruder."

"Are you certain it still is?" A large male rose up from the ground. Around him fourteen other sabers, lean from battle, padded over to surround them.

"Father." Melle acknowledged the leader but ignored the others.

"You do not have permission to refer to me as such. You failed our pack when you didn't pass your solo hunt. You failed me personally when you ran away in shame. You are not fit to be a part of Glacier Pass." Melle's eyes flashed and she lowered her head in submission.

Diego growled but Soto held him back. "She ran away. You would shame her even further interfering."

"I understand."

Diego knew Glacier's reputation for being ruthless, but he also knew of the importance they placed on individual pride. So he could only watch as his mate lifted her head again. "I ask for the opportunity to retest. I have learned many skills while in the wild."

There was muttering among the Glacier sabers. "Enough," growled Tierin. "There have been precedents indicating that a retest is allowed. If Melle can bring back large prey by tomorrow at dawn I will grant her pardon. She will be able to return as Pack in my favor and with her the scrawny male who is growling at her. This is my verdict." He turned his back on them and walked away. Over his shoulder he ordered, "Soto, please make sure that this newcomer does not interfere with his mate's hunt. I can smell his anger."

Melle loped through the pass after them in search of prey. Diego made a move to follow her, but Soto interfered. "You heard Tierin."

"She's pregnant Soto, that's no condition to hunt."

"I understand that. Our pack had mercy, this pack doesn't."

"What happens if she fails again?"

Soto looked at him gravely. "Ignorance is bliss." At Diego's glare, he continued. "Melle will be killed if she fails a second time."

"What?"

"Glacier Pass has too many mouths for any of them to be idle. If Melle can't feed them alive, then they will feed from her corpse."

Diego was disgusted. "That's cruel."

"This pack exiles their old to fend for themselves as soon as their muzzles start graying." Soto said. "I used to think that your father was a harsh leader, but he is nothing on Tierin. I'm ashamed to serve under him but I was left no choice. I would rather suffer myself than have my children starve to death. You'll understand someday."

"The only way that I could understand is if my kittens get a shot at life."

"Then you had better hope Melle can kill something impressive."


	15. Chapter 15

The sun was topping over the horizon when Melle returned. The dawn's clear light illuminated sweat matted fur and a bloodied face. Triumphantly she laid a weasel at Diego's feet.

"That's it?"

"Yeah." She collapsed beside the corpse. Diego licked the stains from her muzzle, trying not to make his concern too obvious. If Soto was correct, Melle would be another carcass. The barbs on his tongue tugged on her whiskers. "That's it for you at least." She giggled at the tickling sensation; "I already gave my prize to Tierin. Did I scare you?"

With a sigh of relief Diego finished grooming her and turned his attention to devouring the weasel. Two bites later, it was gone. "Yes you scared me. Soto spent the afternoon, evening, and night telling me what would happen if you failed."

Shetar sauntered over, family in tow. "Diego's been worried all day, he's chewed all his claws to the quick." She smiled as Diego growled at her. "But I hear congratulations are in order. Tell us about your victory today and how you survived childhood to become a feared huntress."

"You know the words to our coming of age ritual?"

"Of course I do. I'm pack." Shetar leveled her eyes at Melle, "as are you. Now talk!"

Melle nodded in acknowledgement of her reinstated status. "When my father was passing his judgement I couldn't see any outcome other than my death. I've seen so many infanticides by my pack that it didn't faze me much. I understood that if I was too weak I deserved to die for the greater good. I think the phrase my father usually used was 'to prevent scarcity.' After my first failure and successive escape, I knew that I had a stronger than average life force, that I had the will to survive, I just didn't know whether I would have the opportunity. Because my father hadn't killed us on sight, I thought that I could try to prove myself again. So I asked to retest."

"When my father set his parameters I ran without a thought. My pack has well established hunting territory, but from childhood explorations I knew better than to exploit it. A brother and I had discovered a hot spring that is frequently by heavily pregnant elk. Their longer gestational period means that while I'm still sleek, they're weighed down with calf." Diego met Melle's eyes proudly. She had learned a lot fending while living at Half Peak. She offered him a smile in return.

"Anyway, there was a cluster of them right where I expected. It was the perfect ambush site. The air was thick with steam, and my scent was masked by clouds of sulfurous fumes. I was able to pad towards them. Toe-heel, toe-heel, I was stalking my prey. Once I was within attacking distance, I extended my claws. Shick!

"The elk scattered and I was after a heavy doe. Every muscle in my body moved in unison and I ran surefootedly over the ice field. I was a killing machine. Until I slipped. My feet lost purchase and I felt myself skittering to maintain something. Instead I skittered away and the doe escaped me. Hating my failure and praying that none of the pack was watching my progress, I decided to try again." She smiled at Shetar, "for brevity I'll just mention that this happened about 22 times.

"After my last attempt I lay on the ice and resigned myself to death. All optimism was gone and I stared the herd down bleakly. I knew their behavior; I had keyed the weak individuals during my other fruitless attempts. Disheartened and hungry I watched them reassemble at the spring. Elk are not the brightest. I felt a twinge in my abdomen akin to hunger, but it was different. The kittens were moving." Diego started at the news then pressed up against Melle in hopes of feeling it too.

"I was reinspired to continue, to survive for myself and my family. Energized, I sprang from the snow to hunt again. I steadied myself deciding that this was my final attempt. Everything was different and I was aware of it all. My claws stayed retracted, I could move in complete silence. There wasn't even a squeak from the treacherous snow. It was perfect.

"I decided I wouldn't chase the herd again, rather I crept closer. I crouched, tensed my hindquarters, and jumped. My teeth clamped around the neck of a doe I'd marked as weak. I dragged her to the ground and held her as she thrashed. Her lifeblood stained the snow, and my face, crimson." Melle focused back on reality. "So that's my story. Diego dear, close your mouth. You are drooling."

Mildly embarrassed, Diego snapped his jaw shut.


	16. Chapter 16

Reunited with the pack they were, but Melle's hunt had not restored her to her previous rank. The once exulted daughter of the pack leader, the proud woman with so much potential, was relegated to the fringes of their society. She, and Diego with her, was ranked among the weakest hunters. Diego saw his mate's noble blood boil every time they aligned for the hunt. Once she could have directed it, now she was a scout- the position given to children learning how to test prey.

Diego was barely included as pack. His position was generally nonexistent, marginally useless on a good day. He was a scapegoat for when hunts went wrong, which, in this pack, never happened. Tierin still always had a snarl for him though. Frequently the dominant male would cut in front of Diego, forcing him to wait as the meat was consumed. Diego had been reduced to eating scraps of gristle and bone like a scavenger. Melle reassured him that it was natural Tierin to have protective instincts for his eldest surviving child. Diego never mentioned that all Tierin had for his daughter was open disdain instead of the overriding animosity given to him.

"Your low rank causes you to escape his notice." Soto said, "we can use that to our advantage."

"I feel as if he's constantly watching me. He's just waiting for me to make the grave mistake."

Soto was running sweep, Diego had crept away alongside him. Pretending to leave camp like a cur with his tail between his legs was insulting, but it was the only way that he could leave at all. To avoid suspicion, Soto always treated Diego to venom. The jibes hurt, but it kept the Half-Peak bloodline together. Diego was no better than a nursemaid to his sister, but they were all together. Somehow Tierin hadn't seen through the façade, but Soto was very convincing.

Normally Diego could have kept up easily, but today he was panting, wincing with each step. "Sorry about that by the way." Soto said. "I didn't mean to cuff you that hard."

"You could have bruised me a little without actually doing damage."

"Look, you tried to kill me, I say this is fair." He lapsed into their pack speech, the constant ribbing that grated Diego more than the physical abuse. "Besides, Tierin was watching. You'll be relieved that although it feels like he's staring you down, he never gives you as much as a second glance."

"Oh yeah, I'm so relieved. I just love being reminded how useless I am here."

"The sarcasm is a little obvious." Soto stopped his run as they approached a rising cliff. The pass was open before them, the moon shining through enticingly. The spot he selected to talk was easily defendable, two sides walled by the glacier, the third was walled by scraggly pines. They could see everything while still being concealed. This spot was the reason they rushed their sweep run.

"Don't you wish that we could just make a run for it? Travel north?" Diego asked. "The Pass calls me to go home."

Soto sighed. "Don't you think I don't feel the same way? My pride in our pack was developed my being its leader. Every time I look at my children, I wish that they could grow up in the wild north. Then I realize that Shetar and I signed them over to Tierin."

Our subpack wouldn't be complete without Himlad, Sita, and Arla. "I would never ask you to leave your kittens behind." I said. "I was thinking actually leaving."

"That would be going against my word." Soto's honor wouldn't permit him to leave. "Besides, when could we go? My kittens are still too small to make the journey, especially if we were fleeing. Melle is very pregnant now; she'll be denning in a few days. When she delivers, we'll have too many young to carry. The only option is to stay, at least until your children are grown."

Life continued, Diego mused. Things would change. "I don't think that I can do that."


	17. Chapter 17

"Melle, are you okay?" Diego warily poked his muzzle into the burrow, hoping for a glimpse of his mate. A flash of ivory, and Diego retracted it just before she could snap it off. Melle had retreated underground around midday, and made no sign of coming out anytime soon. The light the setting sun cast long shadows on the scene, over the stunted trees and the towering cliffs. Glacier Pass was a region in contrast, and hopefully soon, there would be weak wails to mirror the silence.

Languidly Shetar glanced over from where she was nursing her kittens. "I told you so." She laughed at Diego's hurt expression. "Don't worry about it though; all females are a little volatile while they're laboring."

"A little volatile? She nearly ripped off my face!" Diego protested.

"You asked for it. We mothers like our privacy. It'll all be over in a few hours though, and you'll be anointing your kittens with the sunlight." Shetar stood up, instantaneously removing all three from her teats. They were tall enough to reach nourishment now; the tips of their ears were of height with Shetar's shoulder. With a look from their mother, they scampered off to their den site. Himlad's long legs allowed him to reach the exposed roots of the twisted tree first, but Sita was not far behind. Arla made it clear that she wasn't tired, and lagged intentionally.

Soto returned from hunting, a small antelope hanging from his jaw. The curve of its neck was tragically beautiful. "It was the best I could find on such short notice. Eat up Diego, you have a long night ahead of you."

Compliant, Diego attacked the meat as though it were still alive. "Thanks, you're not hungry?"

"Shetar and I fed at the mass hunt, but I figured that you might need some extra sustenance. You're getting ragged, almost mangy looking." Diego couldn't argue with that, his meager diet was becoming visible. He was only happy that Melle got to eat normally. If she were malnourished the kittens may be harmed. "Besides, you'll need extra strength to escape. That buck may be small, but he's a magnificent specimen nonetheless."

"Have you talked to Melle about leaving?" Shetar asked. She drew closer to the males but never removed her eyes from the den where her cubs slept.

"Not yet," Diego admitted, "but staying isn't an option."

"I agree." Soto said. "With the recent growth spurt, escape is viable."

The kittens grown rapidly in the days since Soto and Diego spoke on sweep. Tiny Sita had seemingly doubled in height, Arla was losing her fluff-ball coat, and Himlad appeared to have gained six inches in leg alone. All three had increased their stamina. Knowing the route to Half-Peak, Shetar agreed with Soto and Diego. They were ready to travel as soon as the kittens were born. Unknowingly, Melle had aided in their escape attempt. The den she had selected was on the north western border of Glacier territory. After they left, it would only be a few days before they were concealed deep in the neutral zone. Maybe a week later, they'd be home free.

They could have talked all night, but all too soon, Melle was crawling out of the burrow. She was pale with black rimmed eyes from sleep deprivation, yet she was triumphant as she pushed two kittens in front of her. Their eyes were still closed, yet they mewled for their mother's milk. Diego felt no shame in watching his wife tenderly arranging them at her leaking nipples. Soto however, blocked Melle's way. She snarled as he lifted the infants away from her and raised them to the dawn's first light.

"Are they named?" He asked.

"Sharr is the male, Salina the female." Diego replied. "I wanted them to have names that were strong with our heritage."

Without hesitation, Soto finished proffering them to the sun. "Sharr son of Diego, may you be a greater hunter than your father." He raised the male. In the sunlight his abnormally pale coat sparkled, Melle had already licked him clean. His sister was a darker amber color, and she appeared to share the same russet undercoat as her mother."Salina, may you survive to be stronger than your namesake as the newest mother to us all."


	18. Chapter 18

After completing the presentation ceremony, Melle nursed the kittens for the first time. Speed was paramount, so she didn't revel in the joys of being a new mother. She was all business. Shetar roused her own children and prepared them for departure. Awarding Sita a cuff around the head for being distracted, she gave them reason to shake off sleep immediately. Himlad was at his father's side before Shetar could treat him the same- Diego thought that he'd be promoted to scout soon. Arla was prowling around the perimeter, showing up her brother. Occasionally she flexed her soft baby claws, probably imagining that she ripping out an enemy's throat. Half-Peak blood ran true in Arla, she was going to grow into a strong fighter.

Melle standing was the signal to leave. Diego gently grabbed Sharr by the scruff of his nexk. It was awkward, Diego was acutely aware that a slight change in pressure would kill his son. Although Melle was the signal, Soto initiated the exodus. Falling in line, Diego and Melle flanked him. Behind them were the preadolescents, and lastly was Shetar. She would run vanguard to prevent her children from straying; she also would be their first defense against followers. Talented in her own right, she was also incredibly fast at relaying threats. With the warmth of the sun on the side of their faces, they started north at an easy lope.

As they ran, Diego felt a flood of joy course through them. He was going home, not alone this time, and the only thing chasing them was spring. Soon the herds would repopulate the glaciers; their pack would greet them with sharp teeth. Diego's children would have their first hunts on ancestral territory; they would not be aliens. He wished that he had been the one to lift them in ceremony but tradition dictated otherwise. Baptized into Half-Peak by an age old ritual, it was the lieutenant, or the highest ranking adult male that wasn't the father, who was required to raise the newborns.

Positions were never formally assigned in the revamped pack. Of the cohort, Diego had the best right by his bloodline, however Soto had age, bulk, and experience on his side. Diego had few regrets in remaining lieutenant, although he hoped Soto's reign would not be dynastic. His leggy son seemed unfit for the mantle of leadership as he somberly struggled against the snow. They had barely run three miles.

Young Sita was also facing challenges. Her small paws kept breaking through the ice's thin crust, causing her to wallow in the snow. She wore a brave expression, but was using significantly more energy than any of the others. Diego predicted that she would be the first to collapse in exhaustion. Shetar valiantly tried to keep the children's morale up. The alternating cheers and bullying may have helped them, but Diego was still worried. He knew that any pursuit would be unhindered by children or the weak. Tierin's purges had seen to that. And with his son in his teeth, he was essentially defenseless..

"Tracks! Halt!" Called Soto. The midday break cause was unorthodox, but Soto's leadership was not one that intentionally made sabers seem weak. The runners needed rest, and the newborns needed nourishment. Melle was making moves to suckle them already and Himlad had succumbed first to his tiredness. He was spread eagled in the snow. Diego dropped Sharr with his mother and, at a nearly invisible gesture from Soto, made his way to the front of the column. The tracks that Diego had assumed were imaginary were decidedly real. And they were some of the strangest that he had ever seen.

"Would the herds start the migration this early?" Soto asked quietly as they stared at the highly variable prints.

"No," Diego said. "There's no plant growth in the valleys for another pass of the moon. At least. No sane herd would travel this far north before the thaw." Large rounded imprints were shallow in the snow, but in some places there were deep pits marring the surface. Occasionally it looked like a carcass had been dragged, or that a stampede had occurred.

"Then what do you make of it? You were always the best tracker."  
"I'm not sure." Arla had arrived at his right shoulder, but instead of pouncing she was staring intently at the tracks. She was pretending to be an adult, just like the others. Would all Half-Peak kittens be doomed to early maturity? Her attention span wasn't as impressive as her intent. Soon she was capering through the prints, effectively ruining them. However, her antics inspired his imagination.

"No sane herd would travel north this early." He repeated. "But an insane herd might." He smiled at the remaining skid marks. They were definitely close.


	19. Chapter 19

Soft scrapings on the ice caused Diego's ears to prick, but he did not stop the run. At a midnight rest, he had conferred with Soto- a discussion that changed their order. Diego had argued that he should lead- their rest site had still glowing embers. Although fire was a human trick, the irregular scattering of flints brought someone else to mind. He thought they would catch the herd by evening and wanted to lead for diplomacy's sake. Soto had other ideas. Now Diego was running at the back of the line. No longer holding Sharr, his senses were free to aid his scouting. Initially he thought his transfer was overly cautious, now he realized it was imperative.

Hackles rising at the sound of grinding ice, he did not-could not- panic. Instead he cast about for the source of the noises hoping the slip could be attributed to the kittens before him. They were still running strong, sure-footedly too, although Arla was lagging slightly. Diego didn't doubt that it was intentional. Her curiosity was overpowering enough, had she heard the slight noises too? The sound was unmistakably saber and Diego resigned himself to the truth- pursuit had arrived.

"Arla" he called. "Drop back." He was calm enough that he wouldn't worry the others. Or so he hoped. Arla certainly obeyed him without question although she was quick to drop her immature manner.

She looked up at him- her large eyes were just beginning to develop the amber flecks that would transition their azure to emerald. It would be another three years for the change to come to completion. "Yes?" Her voice was hardly worried. Blasé and proud, slightly fierce, she merely sounded inconvienced by the stop. However Diego could hear her heart race. Whether from exertion, excitements, or nerves he did not know.

"I need a message ran to Soto."

Arla nodded, nearly stumbling. All her airs did not give her the coordination of an adult. She glared as he cracked a smile. "Yes?"

"Inform Soto that I have heard traces of our pursuit. They are close enough that I can hear echoes of mistakes but not close enough that I can hear individual steps in the snow" Her fur rose and she actually tripped skidding on the ice. With a bottlebrush tail she stood back up. While she was still too stunned to protest he added a kick. "Soto! Call your irritating spawn up to order! Her antics interrupt my peace."

Arla's eyes widened as her father's bellow carried back to summon her forward. "Go quickly and pass the message quietly. I trust your discretion." Green eyes matched blue ones and he could only watch and wait as she sprinted up the side lines. Diego could hear Soto upbraid her once she reached her destination. Next he heard silence as she managed to interrupt his tirade. Diego used it to listen for Glacier Pass's retinue, but it was silence. It was a blessing that they weren't that close, although Diego was certain that their scouts could see him. He repressed the urge to turn and scan the horizon behind them.

An eternity later Arla had stopped and allowed the remainder of the pack to pass her up again. "Dad ran with this unit for awhile," she said. "He knows their tactics-they will wait for favorable conditions. Nightfall."

Diego snorted but understood the logic of waiting. His specialty had never been brute force. Rather Diego had set traps, sprung traps, and survived them.

"Dad says that we will not change our pattern. It would be better to not force action by alerting them that we're aware of their presence. Although, he says, increasing our speed may not be amiss."

Diego hoped she was quoting Soto; such complex words were unnatural in such a small saber. Diego looked farther into the distance, delaying the response she seemed to expect. Attention caught he said, "It is nearly midday. Ask that Soto call an early rest because I must speak with him."

Arla followed his gaze and startled. "They can't be cutting us off." She muttered. "We aren't moving that slowly."

Reassuringly, Diego smiled at his niece. "You are too young to be such a strategist. It is not Tiernan's advance squad- your mother would have heard them. It is instead the manner which I must discuss with your father. Scat." Arla was gone in a flash, and all too soon, after they'd reached a defendable place, Soto called for a stop.

After firmly ordering Aral to stay with her siblings under the women's watchful eyes, Diego finally faced his leader. Soto spoke first "Arla relayed my message?"

"Verbatim."

"And my opinion isn't to your liking?" a possible undercurrent of menace was in his tone.

"Not at all, but I have some other matters to discuss." Behind them, Shetar had snared Arla to prevent her eavesdropping. Melle and Shetar must have been dying of curiosity, but they also had peace knowing they'd hear the news later.

"Go ahead." Soto said. He was so formal, so grave. In that instant there was no doubting his authority as the leader of Half Peak Pack.

"Have you noticed the specks on the horizon?"

"Lieutenant, I have noticed them. However I thought they were mere mirages and weren't worthy of note."

Diego flipped from reverence to total disdain. "Please… do illusions grow? Do they leave tracks? Your leadership should be talented enough to realize that we're following a herd unlikely as that may be. And if logic isn't enough, that mammoth pile of dung that you're standing in ought to do."

Soto regally stepped aside, taking Diego's mockery in stride. He dropped his nose to the fecal matter. It was still steaming slightly although frost crystals were beginning to form. "This smells rather familiar."

"Recall that this is the mammoth that stopped your vengeance on the human tribe." Diego said. "You couldn't kill him then and now with any luck, he'll save us all."

Soto growled deep in his throat. "We shall see."


	20. Chapter 20

"Hello ladies," It was still mid-afternoon when Diego prowled into the cluster of herbivores-alone. The pack had run to a concealed place about a half-mile ahead. The goal was to not startle the herd, but it was a failed attempted. Ellie turned her massive head warily, green eyes blazing at Diego. He had interrupted Peaches' nursing, and the young mammoth raised a high warbling complaint. Manny was further away, using his bulk to crack the ice then using his think trunk to clear the snow off buried grasses. He personally hadn't heard Diego's greeting, but judging on the way that Crash and Eddie were trembling on his broad shoulders, he would soon. The two possums stared at each other with half drawn slingshots, undecided on whether to fight or play dead. Sydney had a rabble of blobs- with faces that only a mother could love- clustered around her stubby legs. Sid was remarkable only in his absence.

"Diego Diego Diego!" An exuberant lisping torpedo knocked him to the ground. Diego accepted sloppy hugs from his friend. "I haven't had any news from you- I've been worried sick!" He exclaimed and planted an even sloppier kiss on Diego's head. Diego grimaced at turned away from the stink wafting off Sid's moldy fur, so soon returned and he was already looking forward to departure.

Manny turned his massive head and smiled slightly, although a glare from Ellie returned a somber expression to his face. He lumbered over with more enthusiasm than strictly necessary though. "Diego, I thought that you valued our safety."

"That's why I came back." Quickly he detailed the situation- omitting some of the key details of course. Not mentioning Soto, he stressed that if his pack could reclaim their former territory, Manny's herd would never be hunted and would have free reign. Diego was surprised that he could so easily go back on his ex-herd, assigning it to Manny. He realized how far he'd moved, and not just geographically.

Manny just blinked as he absorbed the information, and Diego grew impatient with the proceedings. He watched the hillcrests around them carefully, both for the pursuit and for Arla. Diego knew that if he was feeling impatient, the kittens would all be bursting with energy. He also knew that Arla would be the first to act. Sure enough, there was a flash of tawny fur on the northerly horizon.

Diego crouched in front of the mammoth while simultaneously swishing his tail as a warning to Arla. "Please Manny," he opened his eyes wide to appear innocent. "For my family? I want them to grow up somewhere safe and wild."

Impassive, Manny still deliberated but Ellie had heard the end of the conversation. "You have kittens!" She trumpeted. "You the self proclaimed eternal bachelor? This I have to see."

"Ellie, sweetheart." Manny chided. "Diego runs with a pack of wild sabers. Do you really want to put Peaches in unnecessary danger?"

"Danger?" She scoffed. "It seems like we'd be in more danger without a saber guard. Besides, Diego is a father now. Even if he doesn't understand the blinding protective instinct surely his mate would." She stormed away to watch her daughter, but her brother's had transferred to her back and their wary eyes never left Diego.

Diego exchanged a glance with Manny as good as saying "women, crazy." And they shook their heads together in mutual commiseration.

Up on the hillside, sounds of a small avalanche increased in intensity. Arla had lost her footing and was rolling towards them, trailed by a pile of snow. She jumped out of the way inexpertly, gracelessly, but still effectively. Landing on her knees at Diego's feet she looked at the mammoth nervously. She had never seen such large prey before. Still, Arla mustered her most haughty voice and addressed Diego like a queen would. "Have you finished your negotiations?"

"Your daughter?" Asked Manny as he appraised the young tigress. "She resembles you."

"My niece actually," replied Diego. And to Arla, "run and tell your father to assemble the pack and bring them here. And on your way, contemplate why patience is the first virtue in stalking prey."

Not chastened in the slightest, Arla turned her tail on him and said over her shoulder. "Soto is displeased that you have taken so long." And she was off. Diego unclenched his muscles and retracted his claws only after she was out of sight. He desired to cuff her for her impertinence.

"Soto?" Manny asked. "You run with him?"

"It's a long story. But the short of it is that he's mated with my sister and that Arla is one of their three children. I have two of my own with the daughter of the leader of the pack that is following us. It's quite convoluted really."

"Don't worry about it," Sid piped in. "Manny here is married to an ex-possum, Crash and Eddie are immortal teens, and Sydney and I have seven lovely children."

"I meant to ask, what are their names?"

"Well there's Syd, Sidney, Sid the Second, Sydney the Second, Sylvia, Slick, and Sasha."

Diego looked at Manny, and they shared another laugh. Sid was too predictable.


	21. Chapter 21

Arla hadn't been gone more than a minute when Manny attacked the snow with ferocity. He shoveled with his tusks and shaped with his more sensitive trunk. Single mindedly he piled the snow higher fortifying a defendable area.

Diego was amused "isn't this going a little overboard? I understand your paranoia, but…"

Without stopping his construction efforts Manny huffed, "No. This could be a trap. Its early spring when there is lean hunting. With newborns in your pack, more food is necessary. Who better to deliver it than an overly trusting mammoth with literally tons of meat on his bones?"

"Does my word mean that little to you?" Diego asked sadly.

"I'm a father too you know," Manny responded. "You'd do whatever it takes to keep your family alive. So would I. And as crazy as it sounds, so would Sid- although he would need definite help."

"So would you believe me if I said that your herd is the only chance for my children's survival?"

"I would be more inclined." Manny said as he continued forming his fortress. "However it isn't worth the risk."

"My pack is weak now." Diego explained without being asked. It was freeing admitting it. "When you experienced Half Peak pack as led by Soto, you experienced two elite fighters and a trio of competent ones. We're reduced to an extent that you could barely comprehend. We still have the duo- but I've softened by my time with the herd. Soto is weakened by an injury I inflicted. It isn't by much, but by enough that it is noticeable. We have two lactating females; one is still recovering from a very recent childbirth. There are three gangly cubs and two infants who haven't even opened their eyes. We couldn't fight if we wanted to. Peaches alone, less than a yearling, could destroy half my pack. And that's assuming that they attacked in unison."

"Still not worth the risk Diego. Come help me sculpt, it'll ease your nerves a little."

When the pack was silhouetted against the snow, a mere fifteen minutes later, the newly built bulwark was higher than a saber's head. The herd was enclosed within, with only a narrow opening between their haven and the outside world. Ellie blocked that exit. Diego and Manny waited outside as the sabers strode into the clearing around the exterior. Shetar led the way, with Melle and Sita carrying the newborns. Sita was struggling a bit as Salina was awake and squirming, but she was glowing with pride in her responsibility. Himlad also was carrying something: between his baby teeth he clutched an odd squirrel thing with a bulbous nose and desperate eyes.

"Drop it," drawled Diego. "Carrying prey is not the best way to ingratiate yourself with herbivorous allies." Himlad complied but stared regretfully after the squirrel. Diego understood. Watching your first catch scamper away must be agonizing especially since the event was normally celebrated in saber society. Manny watched him with hard eyes, actually inspected all the sabers. By the time he locked eyes with Soto, his eyes were diamond hard and had darkened to coal black. Seeing the fuzzy balls that were Salina and Sharr did not soften him in the slightest.

They did attract Peaches though. The young mammoth darted under her mother's legs to inspect the newcomers. She remembered Diego from her infancy, and had no fear of the adult sabers. Carelessly, she poked everyone with her trunk, squealing in delight at the new scents. She was most interested in the juveniles- although she cooed at the newest litter. Approximately her age, in Soto's kittens, Peaches saw the possibility of friends and was fascinated.

They were less amused. Arla yawned in disinterest and stared past the young mammoth. Her tail twitched in anticipation of the coming battle as she scanned for danger. Bored by being examined, she lazily stalked off. Her entire body was coiled like a spring though, giving mixed signals. Sita had never been brave. When Peaches introduced herself, Sita fled. She ran so fast, it appeared that her paws never touched the ground until she was safely nestled between Shetar's legs. Himlad was still feeling endorphins from his hunt. He took a swipe at Peaches and received a bop on the head in return. Stunned slightly, he wobbled for a bit until he decided to sit down.

Manny moved towards Himlad, his entire being shaking with suppressed aggression. Ellie blocked him. She was convinced by now that the young sabers were harmless, and that Peaches was more than capable of defending herself. Ellie was now directed most of her attention towards Melle's kittens, causing Melle to be the nervous new mother. Melle's hormones were spiking as Ellie lifted Sharr and then Salina into the air. Ready to snatch them back at any moment she waited with baited breath. Melle had enough sense not to break the tentative alliance.

Sid's family ventured out next- a flood of dingy grey sloths. Himlad tried his luck again and managed to get his teeth on one of the babies. He recoiled instantly from the taste of fungus. Hunger finally quelled, he resigned himself to not hunting.

"So," Soto preferred to be all business now that they had relaxed slightly, "we've estimated that our tail is comprised of eleven to fifteen of the strongest male sabers they have. We believe that Tierin may be leading the party himself."

"We need to rely on superior tactics, because we don't have the numbers to confront them directly. Our pack can offer three hunters: Soto, Shetar, and I. Melle will reluctantly and angrily remain behind to guard the kittens. Although I will be hearing from her later, we've agreed as a pack that that is the best plan." Diego added.

Manny blinked slowly, hiding his huge brown eyes behind their long-lashed lids. "I can fight, and Crash and Eddie, and Sid. Ellie too- Peaches is almost ready to be weaned."

After figuring in his head, Soto summed the situation. "Five strong fighters." He muttered.

"Whoa there!" Sid waved his hands in Soto's face causing the saber to snarl in disgust. "What am I, chopped liver?"

"Yeah!" Shouted either Crash or Eddie. "Sid may be dumb, but he's got all the dumb luck in the world. And Manny counted us too, unless we misheard?" Soto raised an eyebrow and was treated to a pebble in the eye. Crash or Eddie smirked triumphantly while his brother cowered in the background. Soto said something about a mildly irritating sting, and the possums reacted. They treated Soto to a barrage of stones until he was lying against the ice seething.

"And what about us?" Himlad, Arla, and Sita chorused. "This territory is going to be ours too!"

Diego looked at Soto in irritation and after some silent communication he responded. "Sid, Crash, Eddie, yes. You're welcome to join us." He faced the kittens with wrath. "You three? Absolutely not!" Soto roared in accord. "It's a brave message, but would be more convincing if Sita weren't shaking, if Himlad hadn't tripped on his overlarge paws while running over here, and if any of you were mature enough to listen to instructions!"

Sita dropped her head and slunk away closely followed by the others. But there was a slight swaying in Arla's hips that indicated that the subject wasn't as closed as Diego made it sound.


	22. Chapter 22

"I wish you were running sweep for me again." Soto looked at Diego gravely.

"You don't trust Shetar?" Shetar had gone to run sweep, to spring the trap, to do whatever it took to figure out the enemy's position. And then she had promised to return. "You took her as mate, but don't want her by your side in battle?"

"She's untested in battle against other sabers. You and I ran Half Peak together, I trust you at my back." Soto scuffed the snow apologetically with a paw, "and I don't wish to see her hurt. Your Melle isn't fighting, you wouldn't understand."

Melle had retreated to the top of a cliff side along with Sydney and all of the children. Ellie and Manny had cleared a single path up to them so it would be easier to defend if the worst happened. Peaches had rolled ice blocks to the edge to push on any advancing enemies. Melle was still snarling about not being allowed to fight, but understood that she was the least experienced and had the youngest offspring. Arla too was still snarling, but Soto had promised her second in command of the hill, if she stayed on top. With Manny and Ellie now blockading the pathway partially, Arla had no choice but to accept her commission.

"Shetar's the fastest of all of us." Diego consoled his leader. "Do you remember when we were kittens? She could beat any of us, even you and your long muscular legs at any running race we threw at her. And she had enough dominance struggles with me to have received plenty of practice fighting."

"You always won." Soto cracked half a smile.

"She's good. I'm better." Diego said. "Besides, don't you want your strongest fighter at your back?"

"I'd rather have you at my back than at my throat." Soto said. And they resigned to wait. They were at the very edge of their chosen battleground. Having the best eyesight, they selected to watch for the Glacier Pack fighters. Or for Shetar's return, which they hoped would come first. They would act as the first line of defense and planned to fight quickly before retreating.

Behind them, there was a tree line with a small gap where Sid was waiting as bait. With any luck they would be able to lure the other sabers to him where an icicle lined pit was waiting. They knew where it was and could make the leap, but hopefully at least a few pursuers would fall in. Crash and Eddie were also stationed there to harass them with their pellet guns. The idea was that it could cause a mistimed jump, and increase the number of initial casualties. Sid would shuffle towards the trap, then catch a confidently placed vine and swing to safety.

The last official line of defense was the mammoths. They blocked the pathway up the hill with their large ivory tusks. They had built a funnel out of tree trunks that they had ripped from the ground with their own. At the end of this, they would stand. And there Diego, Shetar, and Soto would join them in the final attack. If cunning strategy failed, brute strength and determination would succeed. Or so they desperately hoped.

Soto was pacing now, eyes constantly towards the south, they flicked gold and green in the sun's waning light. Diego could see the fire in them increasing, as Shetar still didn't return. "I hate this waiting; I have never had your patience Lieutenant."

Diego waved a paw to silence him. "Your wait will be over soon enough. They'll attack at dark I think." He paused to listen. "I can hear Shetar."

She was only a blur as she darted past them, fast as if she were being chased by the hounds of hell. Not stopping she shouted "Run!" Instantly Diego and Soto complied. She was a tawny streak, but Diego nearly caught up. Soto, with all of his bulk, was slower than they were. Convinced that they were moving fast enough Shetar snarled, "They spotted me. They're closer than I'm comfortable with. They number twenty."

Twenty against five thought Diego. He corrected himself nervously. Against seven. He would be surprised if they greeted the dawn. Never one to count on Fortune's fickle favor, he tried to look for any possibility that would increase their odds of survival. As far as he saw, there was nothing.


	23. Chapter 23

They were led by tall male with a scar over one eye. Diego stayed firm at Soto's side and was surprised when Shetar didn't. She flinched. "At least Tierin isn't openly leading." He said quietly.

"Don't be so reassured." She said. "That's Conlin, Tierin's second. He's so blood thirsty that no woman will again take him as a mate. His first stood helpless as he ripped the throats from their litter and then turned on her for producing inferior offspring."

Diego cleared his throat but he was no nervous. In a fighting trance, he only had room for focus. With Soto's experience at his left shoulder and Ellie's reassuringly dedicated bulk at his right flank, he was confident. Before him, the enemy attempted to intimidate. They would have succeeded had Diego paid attention. Young, strong, handsome males all, clustered around Conlin with their ivory fangs glistening in the moonlight. They were tensed, ready for a signal to spring.

Sid made the first move, popping out from behind a tree as a diversion. A few of the sabers twitched, but they remained in place. Conlin's growl ensured this. Sid caterwauled, flailing and screeching to maximize the spread of his scent, and trying to capture all their eyes. He crossed the covered channel, being just light enough that the snow didn't break, and climbed a tree on the far size. He clung to the branches just out of reach, and shook. Diego knew Sid's tendency towards theatrics, but doubted the swaying trees and falling needles were entirely caused by his acting. Diego could smell fear drafting off the sloth in heavy, rancid waves.

What were they waiting for? Tremors wracked some in anticipation of the attack, but none moved from formation. Then, Tierin crested the hill to join them. Teeth snapped and growls filled the air in greeting, but were silenced with a look. His tall and broad frame filled Diego with dread. Melle's father, nothing like his daughter, had an aura that dripped power and death. The pack leader inevitably showed dominance, but Tierin seemed less confident, more cruel than Soto could ever be. Soto too suppressed a shiver of submission. Tierin nodded his blocky head in acknowledgement and his droops moved.

Down the hill at an ever increasing synchronous rate, they ran. Lithe males, young and inexperienced, led the charge. Their eyes held a heavy knowledge that they were expendable. That coupled with their obedience terrified Diego, but he still affected unconcern. The first of these "cannon fodder" broke the snow over the pit and fell, yelping as he went. It was the cry of a kitten. Diego wished he could have seen the color of his eyes. The youth behind him made a valiant attempt to clear the gap, but his jump was also short. 18:8.

The third was lucky, gaining purchase on the ice with his front claws. Shetar darter forward to bat him down, but he clambered to relative safety before she could reach him. A size with Shetar, he was hardened by battles while she was experienced only in play. He lacked empathy, knowing the only way he could get his own female would be to excel in fighting. Diego watched with baited breath as Shetar took a blow to the shoulder, but made no move to assist her. Soto didn't either; they were waiting for the remainder to cross.

Another pained shriek followed by a dull squish, indicated that another saber had fallen. A distinct high five from the trees credited the kill to Crash and Eddie's harassment campaign. 17:8. Now Diego and Soto fought back to back against four, including Tierin. Shetar had attracted two new males in addition, and was a whirlwind of teeth and claws. Manny and Ellie swept sabers out of the way with their broad tusks, and a hit from their muscular trunks could knock an opponent out of commission. They appeared to be holding out; neither winning nor losing, but only twelve were accounted for.

A cry from the hillside broke Diego's concentration. He ducked low, ripped out the throat of the saber before him, and left Soto to fight solo. It was Melle who had called, she was defenseless. He roughly swiped another away, dove under Ellie's swinging tusks and careened towards the hill at a dead run. A snowball was cascading down the hill ahead of him and plowed an enemy out of the way. Diego dodged and redoubled his speed. Conlin, the vicious lieutenant was leading the party.

As swift as he was, by the time he reached the top Melle was under siege. Diego surveyed the landscape; there were no sloths in sight, and his kittens were equally absent. Peaches had retreated by Sita, and they were guarding a burrow. They weren't under fire at the moment, but two males were approaching them. Melle was fighting her fiercest. The red marks in her fur disguised whether she was injured but claw marks on her opponent's pelt indicated that he was. Arla and Himlad were absent.

Assuming that Melle was close to defeating her match, Diego moved to protect Sita and Peaches. He intercepted the males and began the attack with a skull crushing blow to the elder of the pair. The younger still had blue eyes and Diego wondered why he was away from his mother. As he dodged a lightning fast strike, he realized that that the boy was precocious. He moved to attack again, but was interrupted when a vengeful growl began from the most remote area on the hilltop. Arla.

She and Himald were battling Conlin. Arla was bleeding profusely from a facial wound where she'd been caught by a single claw. Himlad was limping. Diego stopped, horrified that children were being attacked as adults. They were raw fighters, young, immature. Most critically, they lacked functionally hardened claws. They were essentially sacrificing themselves.

The male with Diego was scandalized as well. As one, they ran to separate the fighters. Before they could, Arla took a hit that threw her. Her head smashed against and ice block, and she was still. Limp and bloodied, her form drew Conlin closer. A mad glint in his eyes warned them of his desires to definitively finish off the girl. Himlad, protecting his sister, chased Conlin and nipped at his heels with baby teeth. Conlin, mildly annoyed, turned slightly away from his goal and eviscerated the boy with a practiced swipe of his forearm. Then he turned back to Arla.


	24. Chapter 24

If Diego had been stunned by Himlad's death, he was absolutely immobilized by Conlin leaning over Arla. His bloody maw dripped, staining the snow around her body. Time stood still as Conlin lowered his head. Diego and the Glacier male tensed to spring, the stranger even managed to gain liftoff before Conlin's jaws snapped shut.

He missed. The Glacier saber had propelled him out of the way, and was attempting to pin him. Conlin was shocked by the betrayal, and in a moment of confusion, the other got the better of him. As they struggled, Diego rushed to his niece's side. She whimpered in pain as she stood and blinked her one good eye. The other was congealed with frozen black blood. Ice cold fury radiated from her every pore as she swung her head around in search of Conlin. With the ferocity of an avenging angel, she limped towards her enemy. He lay, snarling and partially subdued, on the ice.

"Move," the command belonged to an adult pack leader and the Glacier saber obeyed instantly. Before Conlin could take advantage of his freedom, Arla lunged for his throat. Her anger lent her strength, and although she couldn't tear flesh from bone, she crushed his trachea. Then, she tottered a few yards away and collapsed.

A wordless bellow erupted from Conlin's battered throat. It was the call of a dominant saber, calling for all reinforcements. A response came from all remaining attackers, as did the sounds of claws on hard ice. Diego turned to watch all the fighters ascend, and was surprised when Melle was at his side. She had dispatched her opponent, and coyly groomed herself while she waited for a final attack. Arla was alive, which, at the moment was all that mattered. They could congratulate her later, for now survival was still in question.

Tierin was the first up the hill, and he flung himself at his daughter. Diego intercepted the blow as he had for Manny long ago. He crashed to the ice, but left Tierin unbalanced in the attack. A gash across his spine was matting his fur with blood, but he moved to stand again. Tierin was already on the offensive as he snarled menacingly. There was only detachment in Melle's eyes as she locked eyes with her father. Seven warriors backed him, but on the far side were a limping Soto, a panting Shetar, and an unharmed pair of mammoths. On Ellie's back rode Sid. He had an idiotic grin as he watched the sabers circle each other.

Tierin made a move to spring again, this time with the absolute intent to kill. Melle stood frozen, offering herself to his teeth. A head shake caused Diego to stand his ground but it pained him worse than his injuries. Was she crazy? She didn't appear to be. At the last possible second, she darted backwards, closer to the hillside. This side was sheer. Now, Tierin's cronies had engaged with Soto and Shetar, with Manny and Ellie. Pushing them away from their leader, it seemed like the Glacier sabers wanted to keep the final fight within pack.

Diego was having none of that. As Tierin stalked towards his daughter, swiping at her with extended claws, Diego made his move. He backed towards Tierin, using sounds to guide him. Then, as Tierin crouched, he kicked at him with his powerful hind legs. Tierin flew over Melle's head and over the cliff. Snow rose at the impact site. And Diego, with his mate beside him, faced the Glacier men.

They were all stunned. Unprepared for the death of their leader, they looked for Conlin. Seeing his corpse, they looked at each other in confusion. Soto spoke up, "I'll give you a hint. Leave now." They scattered. Or, at least, most of them did. The turncoat who had attacked Conlin was sitting well out of the way of his pack mates. He had perched on a small snow swell, and had dragged Arla beside him. For once, the child wasn't protesting, she accepted ministrations on her face. He was licking her still bleeding cut gently, removing ice crystals and debris with his sandpaper tongue.

Soto's voice was menacing, but he couldn't mask the triumph. "I said leave." He growled.


	25. Chapter 25

He lifted his head from Arla's face, "No."

Soto's hackles rose. "That isn't an option boy."

"Leaving isn't either. Do you really think Glacier will accept me back when I assisted Half Peak?" His blue eyes were wide with entreaty and he rolled onto his back in submission. Soto didn't stop glaring, so he flipped back over and continued licking Arla's face.

Shetar scared him off as she approached to check on her daughter. Himlad's dead form had been seen and glossed over. There would be time to mourn later, but there was no place for the weak in the wild. One look from her fiery eyes was enough for him to step back a few paces. Shetar's eyes were rimmed in unshed tears. "Don't touch my daughter vermin." She ordered with a growl.

"She'll keep sight in that eye by the way," he said as he retreated. "My mom knew something about healing."

Taking over the grooming, Shetar merely looked at him snidely. "And where is your mother? You don't look nearly old enough to run around with a reclamation party. And where is Sita?"

Sita minced her way to her mother's side. Having stayed near the burrow with the kittens, she was physically unharmed. Mentally she was scarred, never the bravest, Sita now cowered in face of the strange cat. She pranced back skittishly towards her father for a moment, never taking her eyes off of him. Soto strode to his family and nuzzled each of them; his face never lost the scowl.

"My mother's dead," announced the youth calmly. "Conlin killed her when she accidentally scared an elk that he'd marked as prey. You can say that I've been looking for an opportunity. Besides, you've lost a son Soto, and I run sweep well."

"Too soon."

Diego considered intervening. He didn't wish to see the boy injured or chased off, but he was content where he was. Melle was lying at his side nursing the kittens. Salina had opened her eyes, and they were as beautiful as glacial pools. Sharr's were still closed, and he suckled with a single minded intensity. He licked Melle's face tenderly, wishing that his life were as simple as their kitten's. Eventually though, the young saber's pleas cut in on his domestic moment.

"Kid, you can sleep here." He called out, gesturing to an open patch of snow beside him. "We'll figure out what to do with you tomorrow, but in the meanwhile consider this thanks for saving Arla." Turning his tail on Soto, he approached Diego with more caution than necessary. He did an awkward half bow towards Melle and curled around himself. Within minutes he was asleep, purring peacefully.

"Soto?"

"Yes?"

Diego checked to ascertain that the boy wasn't listening. "We should keep this one. If not only to strengthen the bloodlines." Soto nodded. "Sleep with your family, mourn, do whatever. I'll take watch tonight." When Soto acquiesced, Diego wondered if he was sick.

"He's heartsick," murmured Melle. "Today he lost his oldest son. He doesn't have anyone to give the territory we won to."

"He has Arla, she'll make a better leader than Himlad ever could have." Diego made a sign across his chest. "Who's the boy?"

"His mother was very pregnant when she came from the far north a few years back." Melle said slowly. "She carried the offspring of the last pack leader of High Lake. Tierin let her live in hopes that she'd have daughters to add diversity to our population. He also thought she was beautiful, her fur was whiter than snow. Everyone thought that they'd be mated, but she always claimed that High Lake had hunted an entire mountain, and that we southerners were too weak for her. Shortly after she arrived, she birthed two healthy kittens. That boy is Linna. My father picked him as a warrior while he still had his fluff. His sister, Shayla, was going to be paired to Tierin at her first heat."

"Oh." He considered asking what would happen now that Tierin was dead, but decided he didn't really care about the internal workings of Glacier Pass. Melle's eyes were burning. "Melle?"

"Yes?"

"It's okay that you're sad that you're father died."

"But I'm not sad. Today was a victory. Tierin stopped being my father when he wanted me to mate with Conlin."

"What?"

"It doesn't matter now." Melle said. "They're all dead. Glacier Pass' once formidable strength will be history once the survivors return. And," she licked Diego's face, "I'm Half-Peak now. Did you see Soto spray the territory before he went to sleep? We're official."


End file.
